Jack Gray, a 1930s Nebraskan farmer, is a hard-working family man. He makes ends meet by sheer graft and tireless toll. However, his secure, peaceful world is shattered when a drifter by the name of Henry Dobbs mistakes Jack for a missing New York gangster. The gangster had mysteriously disappeared a few years earlier, presumably to escape his enemies, who are still seeking revenge. Before Jack is given on opportunity to convince the drifter that he is making a mistake, the drifter has left the farm intent on returning to New York to inform Jack's supposed enemies of his whereabouts. Fearing for his life and the for the safety of his family, Jack has no option but to follow the stranger, to intercept him before he reaches New York. Jack's journey from Nebraska to New York, through a depression-torn America leads him down a path which uncovers dark family secrets.